This invention relates to apparatus for treating one or more vitreous articles, such apparatus comprising spaced conveyor members for conveying said article(s) in a predetermined direction over treatment means.
The invention has particular but not exclusive reference to the treatment of a glass ribbon or glass sheets during horizontal travel thereof and may for example be embodied in apparatus for thermally tempering glass sheets. The invention extends to vitreous articles which have been treated using apparatus according to the invention.
Vitreous articles are fragile and there is a particular risk that they may be broken when they are conveyed through treatment apparatus especially when such treatment involves thermal conditioning of the articles. When breakage takes place, fragments of vitreous material are likely to fall between the spaced conveyor members and onto the treatment means. This will lead to non-uniform treatment of subsequently conveyed articles and increased risk of their breakage unless the fragments are removed.